Picking Sides

High Five Friday

 High five and hooray for grapefruit...

 

blue skies and sunshine...

and palm trees!

Supersition Ranch Market

Grandpa caught off guard as the paparazzi followed him around the market.

 Grandpa really wants the pickled peppers but Grandma is not too sure.

The best thing about this market, outside of the limes being eight for a dollar, was the candy. Candy ~ candy ~ candy!

We did bring home some salt water taffy. It was a real treat to go shopping with Grandma & Grandpa and to come away with some treats for our very own.

Hackers Grill

 

We enjoyed lunch at a little dive in Apache Junction called the Hackers Grill.  It was the lunch rush so we waited a bit for our orders to be taken.  We could tell this place was frequented by a lot of regulars.

Grandma ready to order

Grandpa looking serious ~ when isn't he?

 When I said dive I mean dive ~ clean but old and nice folks working.

 Cheese!

It was a good day being out and about in the sunshine.  We also stopped into the Good Apple and Superstition Ranch Market.

Change in the Weather

When we left Phoenix it was 85 and sunny and I mean the bright kind of sunny that makes you squint even when wearing sunglasses.  This morning in Fairbanks it is -25 yes you are seeing that right it is below zero by 25 degrees Fahrenheit.  Burrrrr!

Sunrise today 8:58 a.m.

Sunset tonight 4:11 p.m.

Bundle up and stay warm.

We Picked! Did You?

We picked where we are going ~ Arizona!

Well we actually picked our destination a few weeks back for the best price on airfare.  

Back in a few day with sunny warm photos to post for your viewing pleasure!

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So Where Next?

If you were to head out on an adventure where would you go?  

It doesn't have to be a long adventure just something different.

So where would you go? 

What would you do?

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Friday Fortune Cookie

Blowing out the other person’s candle will not make yours shine brighter.

Root of it All!

At the root we are all giddy creatures wanting love and affection!

Quote of the Day

The reason young peoples bedrooms are gross is the natural laziness that comes from doing everything you want before everything you should.

Quote by my husband ~ good one!

Only the Beginning ~ Not the End

Everything comes to an end; we all know this to be true. In nature and life we go through cycles of gains and losses, but the living of it sometimes is more difficult than just knowing this to be true.

With each life cycle, like the seasons, if we were not looking the season comes to an end. Yet hold fast to the faith as spring is again just around the corner. This is only the beginning and not the end of the cycle.

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Photo taken at the property October 6, 2012 ~ fireweed in its fall coat of golds and browns.

Today's Weather Update

Arizona here we come!

It's Here

Winter is here!  It started snowing on Sunday and just stopped some time last night.  Three days of light fluffy snow has amounted to this...

Our world will be white until late April or early May.  Bring on the snow! My only wish is that with the snow of winter the dark did not have to follow.

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Mortality

Most people realize their own mortality at some stage of their life, it is not a particularly unique experience.  The question is ~ did it change you? Did it inspire you to make something of this short existence?  Did it help prepare you for the next step?

The Way

Watched the movie The Way recently and was quite impressed with the excellent job they did in portraying us on a pilgrimage toward something.

It will make you cry, the beginning and the end are the most touching and tear evoking which is the way of life I suppose. We cry for babies being born with tears of joy and we cry when we lose a loved one with tears of pain and sorrow.

The Way starts off with a loss and ends with a gain.

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Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day ~ October 15, 2012

Hand washing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia, which together are responsible for the deaths of over 3.5m children under the age of 5 every year. In developed countries, hand washing helps to prevent the spread of viral infections, such as norovirus, rotavirus and influenza.

Although people around the world wash their hands with water, many do not wash their hands with soap at critical moments, including after going to the toilet and before handling or eating food. The challenge is to transform hand washing with soap from an abstract good idea into an automatic behavior carried out in homes, schools, work places and communities.

Global Handwashing Day is the centerpiece of a week of activities that aim to mobilize millions of people to wash their hands with soap. This simple activity could save more lives than any vaccine or medical intervention, preventing the spread of infection and keeping children in school.

Above from their web site, check out their web site for more information.

You too could win the Golden Poo Award 2012! This is the fifth year of their efforts to share the importance of hand washing world wide and it makes me smile knowing that I have been on their band wagon all along.

Life

You don't choose a life ~ you live it.

You can't find a life ~ you live it.

What in life means the most to you? Do you have passion for what you are about to do? Do you find meaning in the stones you tread?

Are you living?

Our way is not always what it seems to be on the surface or from the perspective of others.  Our way is as individual as each grain of sand on the beach.

Isn't it time you made your way along the next path?

Isn't it time to live your life?

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Fortune Cookie Friday

The worst bankruptcy in the world is the person who has lost his enthusiasm.

Cabin Project ~ Then and Now

 

April 2010 ~ Cutting down two huge old spruce trees that fell into the road. The felled tree is just to the right of where the driveway is located.

October 2012 ~ standing about 20 feet farther down the road from where the first photo was taken. 

March 2010 ~ one of the first weekends we were at the property starting to clear the land.

October 2012 ~ the driveway standing on what we call curve two and looking at curve one.  The left of this photo is the area that is the main road.

May 2010 ~ photo taken from what we call "The Park" looking up the hill to the spot that is now where the first cabin is located.  The driveway is located at the bottom and right hand side of this photo.

October 2012 ~ photo taken standing just north of the previous photo at the driveway edge of The Park.

June 10, 2012 ~ by the end of summer of 2010 we had the land cleared, the driveway and parking pad finished.  The boys built the outhouse and shed and we dug the holes for the foundation posts ~ no easy task.  It was a fun summer filled with hard work and smiles.

We spent 40 days at the property this summer which was all the time that we could be there given everyone's busy work schedule.  By October 4th we had a cabin finished to the tar-paper roof which will weather winter just fine and be there for us come spring thaw.

The triangle pieces that you see attached to the sides of the cabin are just temporary scaffolding that we used to get the sheeting and tar-paper on the roof.  We left these attached for the winter as we will use them to put the tin roofing material on this next spring.

I am so very proud of the husband and the sons for all the hard work and energy they put into this summer’s cabin building project.  We are not done yet but we sure did make great progress this summer in a short amount of time.

 

Home by Phillip Phillips

Currently listening to Home by Phillip Phillips

"Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home"

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